Sunday, 29 May 2011

I have been quietly working away on granny squares over the last few weeks and they seem to be coming along well. There's something comforting about sitting with a cup of tea and crocheting away on a rainy, gusty old day.

I tried putting them all out in order this afternoon. I have a few more to make yet, to go around again - twelve pink and ten white for the sides, and then the flowery corners which are already done. I am going to join with the blue from the centre square, and possibly edge in blue if I have enough. It's looking so pretty already, I can't wait until it's done!

I've been sorting out my new tub of buttons, and this is my pretty jar of white buttons - I seem to have millions of them!!It's been a busy day, as well as sorting buttons, I've made 59 laser cut brooches, and sent a bunch of emails and a brooch sample to a very exciting potential stockist. I also managed to get out and have a look at the monthly Farmer's Market, I managed to resist the gorgeous homemade scones, but gave in to temptation for garlic and rosemary focaccia bread and Vegetarian Scotch Eggs!

This is only half of the stalls, the whole square was full! It's a definite perk of living in a sweet little market town.

Thursday, 26 May 2011

My plans for a laser cutting day have been rained off ( it's been torrential!!) so that's thrown my day off a little bit! I am going in to the stall early tomorrow instead to get commissions done, so I have spent this morning emailing a bunch of potential stockists, and this afternoon I will be working on my blanket - I am on plain pink squares now!

I am really pleased with how the squares look so far, I think it's going to be a pretty blanket!

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Today I made some fabric birds - they're ever so cute!I have a special commission coming up, so these were a test run. The pattern is from Will this Fly on Etsy and it's fab! I tried one bird with the raw edges on the outside and one with them on the inside, just to get an idea of how it would look both ways. I like both, but luckily it's down to the client to decide!

Aside from awesome bird making, I had some excitement today when a customer brought me this huge tin of buttons!I will be spending a fair amount of time sorting them into my colour jars and I'm sure I will have lots of fun!

Sunday, 22 May 2011

My long-suffering husband went up into the attic on a Polly Pocket hunt for me (a whole different story), and it turns out that there's some other quite interesting stuff up there. He came across this book, which it would seem that I have acquired at some point and forgotten...

I will not be making that mistake again! My favourite pattern is the knitted tie for father. What a fantastic book!

After work yesterday I went for a wander around the local charity shops and had a very good haul!

The pink striped fabric at the front is a pillow case, the brown retro floral is a bed sheet, and the pretty floral at the back is a pair of curtains. They will all be something different in no time though I'm sure! The little deer ornament will join my ever-increasing collection of deers, it's becoming a bit of an obsession! The floral ceramic jar is some kind of pomander (according to the lady in the shop - I only bought it because I liked the pretty floral!) so I need to find a nice home for it! I was quite pleased with it all, so much luck in one day!

For more Flea Market Finds, pop on over to see Sophie Isobel, who has a very beautiful bag for her crochet!

My new shelves are happily installed on the wall, with bunting for added good cheer! I need to fill them a little more thoroughly but I think it's a good start! I made some new brooches today - I had a needle felting lesson on Wednesday from my lovely friends Kat and Amy, because despite being a big fan of felt, I had only ever done wet felting. So after much giggling (and some spikey needle mishaps) I figured out how to make hearts! I've made a small batch to try on the stall, and if they do well I will be unstoppable!I'm off to "Stitch and Bitch" tonight, I think there's going to be some granny square action - I haven't had a chance to do any for about two weeks!

Thursday, 19 May 2011

A couple of months ago, my stall-neighbour Bob picked up this little shelving unit for me at an auction. It was brown and kind of icky, with haphazard varnish marks and it was generally in need of a makeover - so here it is...I painted it on Monday, and today I took off the back, covered it with this lovely OrlaKeily wrapping paper and put it all back together! I'm so thrilled with it!Tomorrow it will go on the wall of my stall and be used to display some of my makings! I also managed to finish sewing my sign yesterday so today it was installed (again with the help of stall-neighbour Bob - he's ace) and I'm pretty pleased with it! It's really hard to get a good pic of it, so my apologies, but here it is...

So I have been a busy bee today, made all the more impressive by the fact that we went to see The Manic Street Preachers last night and I'm exhausted!

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

I'm working on some more bunting - this time with lovely bright colours!

The yarn I have used is cotton and acrylic, and it's very thick, so each individual triangle only needs to be two rounds of trebles for them to be quite large. I really like them - I am hoping to get three sets of bunting from the four balls, and at the rate I'm going I will be done in no time!

These tiny little flowers are the beginnings of a project that I am working on - it's a very special commission, and I am starting out by making some little samples to show the customer. I have also been accumulating images to show her, so I can get a feel for what she's looking for. It's very exciting, and also a little scary - I like to know that I'm on the same page as the person I'm working with, and as with everything, everybody has their own specific idea of the finished product. This however, is quite an open brief, and I have quite a lot of creative freedom, so hopefully I'll do a good job!

Sunday, 15 May 2011

My flea Market find this week is actually from a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't me that found it, but I'm pretty sure it still counts!

My sister-in-law spotted a jar of buttons in the charity shop that she volunteers in, and kindly rescued them for me (I obviously have a reputation these days for my love of buttons and fabric!) I immediately sorted them into the correct jars and they are happily sat on my button shelf now, ready and waiting to be used!

I used this fancy pattern from The Royal Sisters to make this pretty scarf; It's a great pattern, really straightforward and clear - it's fab! Is it a bit sad that I am now looking forward to winter so that I get to wear it?!

Thursday, 12 May 2011

After weeks of working hard on commissions and big custom orders, I decided to let the business have a (respectably sized) splurge on yarn! I got twelve balls for £10, so I will be spending some time tomorrow working out what to do with it all!

I got a bunch of different stuff - lots of cotton, and some bamboo, which I've never tried before! It was quite nice to be able to go shopping with money that wasn't my own, it felt rather frivolous!

I spent this morning on my laser cutter making some commission pieces, and a new brooch design which will be exclusive to Second Home in Oswestry, who have kindly offered to stock some of my work to test out sales on the high street for me. It's an idea relating to the increased footfall on the high street compared to my stall, and the long term idea that it might be nice for me to have a little shop on the high street one day.

So, this is the brooch design - I thought it would be nice to make something in-keeping with the fact that it is an interior shop....

This afternoon I have been working on some sketchbook stuff, I have been trying to accumulate images for inspiration and to kick start the creative process. So far though I'm just cutting and sticking. But I'm sure it will lead somewhere!

Next on my list is to make some labels for my new stock, I am always happy when I have to make things to replace what has sold!

For more creative spaces pop on over here - the new home for my creative space!

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

I have finished the last of my bargain charity shop yarn making my waterlily granny squares, I made six of each colour-way, and one ordinary granny square in blue which will be the centre square. Next I plan to make white and pink squares, to make the blanket bigger, but here are the squares I've made so far... I really love this design, and I suspect it will pop up again in my makings!

On Sunday I made this apron from vintage fabric, because I keep putting things down around the house (scissors, crochet hooks etc) and forgetting where I put them, so this seemed like a pretty solution to the problem. It has three separate pockets, so hopefully it will be useful.

Today I have been working on some designs for new jewellery - I'm not sure yet if I've hit on anything good, but I hope there will be something that can used. It's been another rainy day, so I have been sketching whilst drinking tea and watching "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", seems like a good way to pass the time!

About Me

Welcome to gemmipop designs! I am an applied art graduate, specialising in jewellery and metalwork and I have my very own sweet little stall where I sell my work. I like to share my crafty makings and all of the interesting things I see on my adventures through this funny old world! Thank you for stopping by!